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“Newsroom employees are more likely to be white & male than US workers overall. There are signs, though, of a turning tide: Younger newsroom employees show greater racial, ethnic & gender diversity than their older colleagues.”
About that turning tide... pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018…
About that turning tide... pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018…
That’s newsroom leadership focusing diversity initiatives on internships, fellowships and new hires. Having young diverse voices with no security or authority in the newsroom is not a “turning tide” it’s a way for the power structure to maintain the status quo, unchallenged.
Diversity in newsrooms is a failed experiment, except for white women.
They have been the largest beneficiaries of diversity initiatives and they have failed to bring up other women (of color) with them.
They have been the largest beneficiaries of diversity initiatives and they have failed to bring up other women (of color) with them.
I’ve seen (and heard stories of) white women get very defensive when they are confronted with this fact. Yes they were marginalized, yes the fought like hell to get where they are, yes they were mistreated, harassed and god only knows what else ...
... but then they adopted the norms of the white patriarchy, after all they were pulled from the same social network (IVY league, upper-middle class, etc.)
So they stopped fighting for other voices. They promoted themselves and those they related to.
So they stopped fighting for other voices. They promoted themselves and those they related to.
So now we have this tension. They want to fight for their legacy, while young brown/black “sqeaky wheels” are like what legacy? Y’all weren’t fighting for us ... and then FEELINGS.
Instead of listening, the get defensive. They are pushed in a corner so they lash out ...
Instead of listening, the get defensive. They are pushed in a corner so they lash out ...
I’ve heard variations of all of this said by white women related to newsroom diversity
“Enough of this race talk”
“I’m the good one, why are you pointing the finger at me?”
“Be patient”
“Things can’t change overnight”
“It was a lot worse”
“Just deal with it, we had to”
“Enough of this race talk”
“I’m the good one, why are you pointing the finger at me?”
“Be patient”
“Things can’t change overnight”
“It was a lot worse”
“Just deal with it, we had to”
Which leads me to this conclusion
Diversity is not a destination.
The most common question I get is how do we get there. And I’m like there is no there there. This is not a numbers game it’s challenging the core principles and values of our institutions - those set in place by white cis-gender IVY men.
The most common question I get is how do we get there. And I’m like there is no there there. This is not a numbers game it’s challenging the core principles and values of our institutions - those set in place by white cis-gender IVY men.
Those adopted and upheld by white women.
The easiest thing was the hire more black and latinx folks (which we couldn’t even do) the harder thing is to rethink the mechanisms and norms of our craft (which we aren’t remotely curious about).
The easiest thing was the hire more black and latinx folks (which we couldn’t even do) the harder thing is to rethink the mechanisms and norms of our craft (which we aren’t remotely curious about).
Anoter tell is when folks think they are doing “good” in diversity because they’ve hired a few Asian folks.
Nope.
Many - not all but many - Asian folks align themselves with whiteness (for a number of reasons which I don’t have the time to go into here) but they will likely
Nope.
Many - not all but many - Asian folks align themselves with whiteness (for a number of reasons which I don’t have the time to go into here) but they will likely
uphold the status quo.
There is evidence of this in the numbers - Asian women have been the second largest beneficiaries of diversity initiatives.
Don’t think because you’ve hired a brown women you are doing the work. Again this is not a numbers game.
There is evidence of this in the numbers - Asian women have been the second largest beneficiaries of diversity initiatives.
Don’t think because you’ve hired a brown women you are doing the work. Again this is not a numbers game.
Unless Asian women are actively making newsrooms a safe place for black and latinx folks - we are playing in the hands of the patriarchy. We are complicit.
All this to say :: there is NOTHING objective about news gathering. There is ACCURATE AND FAIR.
thepolitic.org/an-interview-w…
thepolitic.org/an-interview-w…
One last thing - folks want to have polite conversations about diversity & inclusion, which ticks me off to no end.
Don’t get me wrong - I can argue this calmly & politely over ceasar salads and adjacent to women with pearls - but I’m fucking angry about this shit ALL THE TIME.
Don’t get me wrong - I can argue this calmly & politely over ceasar salads and adjacent to women with pearls - but I’m fucking angry about this shit ALL THE TIME.
While you are eating your second course we are hemorrhaging black and latinx talent.
While you are on your third course you’ve likely published a story like this vox.com/platform/amp/i…
...
While you are on your third course you’ve likely published a story like this vox.com/platform/amp/i…
...
While you are eating your dessert, folks are leaving journalism altogether.
medium.com/s/story/journa…
medium.com/s/story/journa…
So when a new newsroom leader is hired and doesn’t even bother to make the perfunctory nod to “diversity and inclusion” - you gotta wonder if the conversation is now just out of fashion.
Thanks for listening - it will get worse.
